Gundam Musou

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By Jonathan Lumb 01/05/2007 Seldom does a month pass without a new Gundam game announced in Japan, and Dynasty Warriors-style games aren't far behind. So it's big news to see the two coming together for one giant robot love-in on the PlayStation 3. The name of the game is Gundam Musou, and it's going to be massive in Japan.

Gundam Musou stars mobile suits from three of the Gundam series: the original Gundam, Zeta Gundam and Gundam ZZ. Players fill the role of the main character from each of those series, with appearances from some of the other characters. The game's main mode of play, "Official Mode," features reenactments of important battles from each story, putting the player right in the heart of the action. Characters revealed so far include Ray Amuro (pilot of the original Gundam), Char Aznable (and his special Zaku II), Kamille Bidan (pilot of both the Gundam Mark II and the Z-Gundam), Judau Ashta (and the Double Zeta Gundam), and Haman Karn (and the Qubeley mobile suit).

The game, developed by Koei's Omega Force, has the typical "musou" gameplay that fans of Dynasty Warriors are familiar with -- hack, slash, strategize, repeat. Naturally, this presents quite a change of pace for Gundam games, so to keep the game flowing smoothly, a number of moves have been added to the mobile suits that haven't been seen in previous Gundam titles. These include shooting from the beam rifle and using special kicks, depending on the mobile suit being piloted. Mobile suits can also be upgraded as the game progresses, with better combos and a wide array of weapons.

Click the image above to check out all Gundam Musou screens.

The story will unfold through a combination of in-game events and movie scenes. As the Dynasty Warriors games did with important generals, Gundam Musou features movies when famous pilots enter the stage, recreating scenes from the animated series. Gundam fans are sure to implode with glee when such events kick in, just before an army of MS-05 Zaku Is descends onto the battlefield ready to be torn apart by your RX-78-2 Gundam.

Completely new to Dynasty Warriors-style games, and for good reason too, are battles in outer space. At times an unholy number of mobile suits will fill the screen, helping players build up that familiar "shot down" counter into four digit territory. Mobile armor balls also make an appearance in space battles, and are tempting to kick into the oncoming enemies, just like on TV!

Gundam Musou will be the first Dynasty Warriors-style game on PlayStation 3, and has already been in development for two years. It's nearing completion now and is due for release in Spring in Japan. There's no word yet on a U.S. release for the game.